PAKISTANPAKISTANIn a survey carried out by the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) in 2011, 76% of parents were in favour of corporal punishment and believed it was “necessary to correct children’s behaviour”.
(Reported in The Peninsula, 7 October 2011, www.thepeninsulaqatar.com)
A participatory study by Save the Children, UNICEF and Government of the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) in three districts of NWFP – Peshawar, Hangu and D.I.Khan – revealed that corporal punishment is widely used to discipline children in homes and educational institutions. A total of 155 consultations were undertaken, using participatory research techniques, with 3,582 children aged 6-14 years from government and religious schools, 86 consultations with 1,231 parents, and 86 consultations with 486 teachers. Not one child reported never having received corporal punishment. Cumulatively, the children identified 28 types of punishment used in homes and 43 in schools. The most common punishments at home were hitting with an object (shoe, brick, iron rod, knife, etc), smacking, kicking, punching, hair-pulling and ear-twisting. The most common in schools were smacking, hitting with an object, hair-pulling, ear-twisting, and awkward and humiliating physical positions. About 43% of all punishments identified were reported by children in government primary schools, about 30% in government middle schools, 10% in government high schools, and 16% in private schools. Corporal punishment at home and in schools was more frequent the younger the child. There were no significant gender differences – boys and girls were subjected to similar frequencies of punishment. Corporal punishment in homes was reported as being inflicted most frequently by immediate family members such as parents (20.22%), grandparents (24.04%) and older siblings (18.91%) and uncles and aunts (27.31%), followed by close relatives such as cousins and in-laws. Neighbours, village elders, tutors, housemaids and other relations were reported as less frequently beating children. Corporal punishment in schools was most commonly inflicted by the teacher and students assigned discipline duties in the school (49.6%), including class monitor, commander, and assembly commander. Senior students were also frequently reported to be hitting younger children (14.7%).
(April 2005, Disciplining the Child: Practices and Impacts, Save the Children/UNICEF/Schools and Literacy Dept, Government of NWFP)
A survey by the Pakistan Paediatrics Association and UNICEF, the results of which were published in March 2003, showed that more than four out of five children were vulnerable to physical abuse from parents, elders and teachers, with boys more likely than girls to suffer physical abuse.
(Cited in Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, 2004, State of Human Rights 2003)
HRC report available at: www.hrcp-web.org/ar_2003.cfm